A Past Tense Future
by A.J.Peart
Summary: This is essentially a parody of any fantasy novel there is, though I can't say that I've read them all. It basically takes the strange occurences of a fantasy novel to the extreme, or at least my version of it. A lot of people like it, and there's A LOT
1. Part 1: Chapter 1

PART 1

PART 1 The Past, the Present, and the Hobble-Gobble Hogwash 

The sun rose over the high reaches of The Mountains.A worn path wound its way over hills and through trees that lined the pathway.The sun broke through small cracks between the leaves of the trees and speckled the ground in a beautiful spray of light.A dark cloaked figure drifted along the path with a long walking stick in hand.The air was cooler in the higher regions of the mountain range and Robert found the temperature quite comfortable in his cloak.His cloak had been with him a long time, since before he had begun his long journey.


	2. Part 1: Chapter 2

Decades ago, Robert had been a lonely man, living off the land in the lower regions of the Westlands

Decades ago, Robert had been a lonely man, living off the land in the lower regions of the Westlands.No one ever came to bother him there; life was peaceful.He had been blessed as a child with a rare gift.He was able to communicate with Mother Earth herself, and with this gift he was never truly alone.There was a large rock formation on his land; quite elegant in the way is sparkled under the sunlight.He would often spend his evenings seated on a small rock to watch the shining sparkles as the sun went down behind the horizon.

One day, a traveler wandered onto the land when Robert was on a routine trip to Town for a hermit convention of sorts.The traveler, whom, for reasons beyond our comprehension, was known as Phil, saw the rock formation from a distance and was instantly mesmerized.When he moved closer to the rock, he could see that a rather large deposit of gold caused the rock to sparkle."Yippee," he cried as he whipped out a long pickaxe, which he just happened to be carrying.

Robert returned home several days later to find a small camp of ruffians gathered around his rock."What's going on here?" he fumed.

"Hey, quit your yappin'!" yelled an elderly fellow who was lounging in a chair near a shabby looking tent, "If yer gonna steak yer claim, do so quietly.Some of these here folk are tryin' ta get some sleep."

Robert wasn't very familiar with the dialect that this vagrant was jabbering with, but he understood what the man had said.What he couldn't understand was what he was to steak his claim of.The sun was beginning to go down on the horizon and from where Robert stood, he couldn't see his precious rock formation to watch the sparkles in the sunset.

He moved through the temporary camp until he could see the rock. Unfortunately, the rock wasn't there.His jaw dropped as he stared at what now lay in the spot where the rock was.Several lanterns had been perched on sticks all around a large hole in the ground.He stumbled towards the edge of the hole, stuttering at the words he was trying to say.Phil, the vagabond traveler turned rich millionaire, sat in a rather fluffy and comfortable looking chair near the edge of the hole and watched as Robert fell to his knees in the dirt."Is there something the matter, buddy?" he called to Robert.

Robert stuttered at some more words before finally asking the question, "What happened to my rock?"

"And what rock might that be then?" asked Phil, totally uninterested in what Robert was mumbling about.

"The large rock that was right here.I used to watch it as it sparkled in the sunlight," said Robert.

"Oh_ that_ rock," said Phil as he started to get defensive over what he had claimed for himself, "What do you mean, _your _rock?"

"This was my rock, I live on this land," argued Robert.

"I didn't see your name on it," shot Phil with an angry scowl on his face.

To make a long story short, Robert lost his rock.Mother Earth was no help to him since she is helpless when it comes to stopping people from doing things to her.Robert was angered by the vagrants' behavior towards the being he had grown to call his own mother.It was a very traumatic experience for him, especially when he realized that everyone was getting rich off of something he had considered his for nearly twenty years.

He abandoned his land and began to travel the countryside and eventually gathered many stories relatable to life.Ten years later, he began telling his stories to children around campfires in the towns he came across in his travels.He even returned several times to the town that had formed on the spot where his rock had once stood: This Place.

One day, rather late in January, Robert sat on a cold rock, surrounded by snow and shivering in his dark cloak.He began to remember some of his stories and he decided that somehow he should write them down and make a book out of it.Well, as many people know, thousands of bizarre ideas have been produced from minds that were skewed by the cold, but not too many are actually taken literally.

Robert managed to stand on his cold legs and wandered west to where a new town was beginning to form.The town's founder, Eigen Farmwick, was quite partial to the idea of naming the town after himself, and that's precisely what happened.It was in this town that Robert began to write his book.

The book was long and full of lessons that people could use to base their lives upon.It was very influential for the people of the new town and he began to see similarities between his book and a fabled book that had existed before a time long ago, which he began to call "The Great Beginning."

Mother Earth had spent countless hour telling Robert stories of the past.She explained to him that the world had suffered a tragedy resulting in widespread massacre and all out "banana warfare," which is what she referred to it as.The race that had inhabited the earth before The Great Beginning were cruel, harmful, and uncaring about what they did to her.

During her time of repair, she had forgotten much of the old world, though she did remember one thing.There had been a book that nearly every human being owned a copy of.It was a rather silly book, but everyone seemed to have an affinity for it.This book was called the Bible.

Robert, who had yet to title his masterpiece, took it upon himself to give it the same name as the Bible, hoping that it would have the same effect as it once had and that he would be rich from the sales figures.

He hired a man by the name of Will to work the printing machine that was designed to print the cover of his book.The only problem was that Will was illiterate, much like many of the other people of the lands.Will placed the letter stamps into the machine that would print the covers, and began to stamp the thousands of covers that Robert had asked for.When Will had completed this task, Robert placed one of the covers onto the pages of his book and jumped for joy.

When he was on his feat again, he took another look at his book.Will had placed an extra letter into the printing machine by mistake.Every single copy of his book was not titled "The Bible" as expected.Instead, each copy had an extra "b," and thus creating, "The Bibble."

For a while, Robert was angry about this error, but soon realized that he was the only one who knew about the original book and it's title, and that no one would be the wiser.His book was taken under the pillows of the rich and used as pillows by the poor.He was happy; the people were happy.

As he became older, Mother Earth slowly stopped talking to him.He became saddened by this and begged his mother to speak once more.After almost two years of silence, Mother Earth spoke, "Robert, my son," she said.

Robert sat up, suddenly alarmed by the soft voice he hadn't heard in years."Yes, mother," he responded.

"Robert, I have a favour to ask of you," she continued.

"Anything," he exclaimed.

"I've been thinking a lot," explained the voice of Mother Earth, "and I've decided that I want to know what happened to cause The Great Beginning.If there is a way to discover the truth, please find it and tell me what happened."

Robert was on his feet in moments."I'll do my best," he vowed, and set out on his quest.


	3. Part 1: Chapter 3

Robert followed the path towards the top of The Mountains

Robert followed the path towards the top of The Mountains.He had been on his quest for more than ten years and yet he still found nothing to tell Mother Earth.

There was an area of The Mountains he had yet to search.A passerby had once noticed that this area had a jagged look to it and had dubbed it Jagged Reach.There were rumors that reached as far as the Southland town of This Place that told of a mysterious cave that was very mysterious indeed.Strangely, that was all the rumors ever said about it, but nevertheless, Robert was curious.

He climbed up the rocky incline, using his staff as support, until he stood on a relatively flat surface.He looked around, observing the landscape around him and realized that he was standing on what looked like a rocky path.The path led around a corner and while on one side was a smooth cliff wall, the other side dropped with a shear straight fall towards many sharp looking rocks.The path was thin, but Robert managed to navigate it safely.

Once around the corner, Robert found himself face-to-face with a small cave opening.He walked to the opening and listened carefully.Beyond the darkness within, he could hear the sounds of bangs and clangs; the sounds of two metal objects hitting each other.Along with these sounds, he could hear the faint sound of giggling.

Curious, Robert worked his way into the cave, following the sounds though the blinding darkness.The cave wasn't very long and soon he found himself in a large cavern lit by several lanterns, which had been placed around the rocky enclosure.In the light from the lanterns, Robert could distinctly make out the forms of two men at two different sides of the cavern, each carving something into the rock.

Robert stood staring at the creations wondering what the final images were to be.After a moment of deliberation, he decided to ask the man to his left.The man was standing back from his sculpture in thought, with one hand's finger tucked under his lip and the other hand cradling his elbow."Excuse me, sir," started Robert.

"Why yes, you may," exclaimed the man in a wild roar of words as he spun around to look at Robert before spinning back to his previous position.

Robert furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out what had just happened.It had been quite sudden and he hadn't expected it to happen that way.He thought for a moment longer before giving up and simply pretending that the outburst had never happened."Would you mind if I asked you a few questions about your sculpture?" asked Robert softly.

"Don't mind if I do," cried the man, who spun full circle on one heal and returned to his previous position once more.

Again, Robert had to stop and think about this response. "What are you carving?" asked Robert before he had the chance to question the man's behavior any longer.

The man stood silent for a moment as if thinking.Robert expected the man to bounce around the cave this time while chanting some incoherent dribble about something utterly bizarre, but nothing quite like that occurred.The man simply pointed towards the statue and softly said, "This."

Robert looked at the statue in puzzlement."But what is it?" he asked again, trying not to smack some sense into the man.

The man paused for another moment before screaming loudly and attacking the sculpture with his tools.A few seconds latter, he calmed down and stood several feet back from his creation.Robert looked at the man, then at the creation, and back to the man.

That was about when Robert gave up. He wandered across the floor of the cave to where the second man stood carving a sculpture across from the cave opening."Good day," he said to the man.

The man turned to Robert and he could see that the man had a rather long and bushy beard on his chin.There wasn't an expression that could be seen in the man's eyes, though they were slightly crossed.Robert thought suddenly that the man must have been having trouble carving his statue, but on quick inspection of his work he decided against that possibility."Hello," said the man in a rather unusual sounding voice, almost as if the man was too happy for his own good.

"What, may I ask, are you carving on this fine day, sir?" asked Robert politely. 

"It's not so fine if you ask me.It's been night time for a very long time and a might bit cloudy too, if you ask me," said the man as he gazed up at the ceiling of the cave.

Robert looked at the ceiling for a moment and realized that the man didn't think he was in a cave."You know you're in a cave, right?You can't see the sky from in here."

"If you ask me, that's garbage, if you asked me that is." 

Robert stared at the man in surprise.He wasn't sure what to say in response to that, so he decided that his best course of action was to change the subject."What are you carving?" he asked the man.

"Well, if you ask me, and I'm sure you will sometime, I'd say that I was carving something along the lines of that," he said, pointing at the statue.

"What?" asked Robert again.

"That," said the man again, emphasizing his pointing finger towards the creation on the wall that seemed to be developing a beak.

Robert looked that the man, then at the statue, and back to the man.There was something about the two men in the cave that was starting to give Robert the feeling that he would go insane if he were forced to stay with them any longer.

That was about when Robert gave up again.He decided that they were obviously quite mad and that he was never going to get a decent answer from either of them.He made his way slowly out of the cave, disturbed by the loss of time.He had a quest to fulfill and he had wasted nearly ten minutes on the mad men in the cave.

He ventured back down the path and marched south towards his "home town" – This Place.


	4. Part 1: Chapter 4

The sun had gone down behind the horizon once more and Robert found refuge under a large evergreen tree for the night

The sun had gone down behind the horizon once more and Robert found refuge under a large evergreen tree for the night.When morning came, he continued on his journey as he had done every morning for the past decade.

Sometime in early morning, Robert heard the voices of men calling out to each other and the sounds of construction.A hammer beat down on metal, an axe chopped at wood, a river rushed nearby, and there were several other indiscernible sounds emanating from the forest around him.He followed the sounds as they got louder and stepped from the cover of the trees into a clearing.

A river passed through the clearing and there were six men bustling around building a bridge across the waters.The bridge was near completion; it seemed safe enough to cross and the men were doing so to bring supplies across the expanse of moving water.

All the men looked hard at work except for one who seemed to be taking a break.Robert stepped towards the man, who didn't seem to notice the cloaked figure's presence."Good day, sir," announced Robert.

The man looked up in shock, finally realizing that he wasn't alone."Well now, you startled me," he said as he placed a hand on his chest to make sure his heart was still inside; that it hadn't bounced out of him.

"Sorry," said Robert, apologetically.

"You know, it's not customary in these parts to go around scaring people.It's quite rude in fact," said the man, pointing a finger in Robert's face.

"I did say I was sorry," Robert pointed out.

"Is that right?Can you prove it?"

"Well, no," said Robert, finding this whole conversation quite frustrating, "but if you like, I could apologize again."

"I think you'd better, or you'll have a lot of trouble in your hands, Mister."

"I'm sorry," said Robert again.

"That's better," the man calmed down and pulled a sandwich out of his bag on the ground beside him.

Robert watched as the man took a few bites and swallowed."What can I do for you?" the man asked finally.

"Nothing really, I was just passing by and wondered if I might make use of your bridge to cross the river.What river is this, anyway?" asked Robert.

"This river?" asked the man, pointing to the river behind him as though Robert may have been referring to some other river in the clearing, "That's the Essenkani River."

Robert had heard of it, but he had never knowingly seen it before.He was sure he had crossed it countless times, but never realized it.To him, it had always been a river, nothing more."I see," said Robert, finding that the man had totally avoided the whole subject of him using the bridge to cross the river.

"It's a mighty fine river, if you ask me.I'd say that anyone falling in it would most likely get dragged all the way down to wherever it ends," continued the man, "I don't think anyone actually knows where it ends.Someday I plan on finding out.I call it 'My Lifelong Quest.'"

"That's all _very_ interesting, but the thing I'd _really_ like to know is whether I can cross your bridge," said Robert, unable to contain his irritation with the man. 

"Oh, the bridge?Sure you can, that's what it's there for," said the man as he took another bite from his sandwich.

"Thank you," said Robert, trying to mask his contempt.

Robert crossed the bridge quickly.He was keen on getting away from the strange man and the other workers who would probably prove to be equally as annoying.He had a quest of his own and was anxious to reach the end.He felt he still had a long way to go.


	5. Part 1: Chapter 5

The wind blew chill through the trees of the forest

The wind blew chill through the trees of the forest.The leaves on some trees had begun to change colour as summer turned to autumn.Robert had walked for a little more than an hour since crossing the bridge at the Essenkani River.He puzzled over what the point behind his journey was.Mother Earth had given him his quest over a decade before and for what purpose?Robert thought long and hard, as he had done so many times before.Mother Earth hadn't spoken to him since delivering the quest to him.This fact hadn't bothered Robert to any great extent; he had always assumed that she felt it necessary for him to complete the task alone, though it didn't make much sense.He reminisced about long conversations he had had with her during long nights when he couldn't sleep.He remembered the soft caress of her wind as he lay crying as a child, or the stillness she created with the babbling of a nearby brook.

He missed her immensely.After years of her silence, the streams stopped babbling to him and the air was no longer warm.For the first time in many years, Robert began to feel truly alone.He had always felt the presence of Mother Earth at his side, in front of him, and behind him.He stopped walking for a moment and carefully wiped at his eye to prevent a tear from slipping down his cheek."Check," said a voice in the near distance.

Robert didn't notice at first, he was still trying to decide whether he had ever heard Mother Earth talking to him in the first place or whether it was just a child's delusion that he had carried on though adolescence and into adulthood.The voice came again a moment later, "Check."

This time Robert heard the voice.He looked around the forest but could see nobody.He also couldn't figure out what someone, in the middle of a forest, would be saying, "check," for.The voice came again, "Check," and this time Robert distinctly heard it come from above him in the trees.

He looked up and at first he couldn't see anything.He stepped to his left and stepped again until he could see something unusual.At the top of the tree, there was what looked like a bundle of while cloth.He tried to focus on the cloth and realized that there was a man wrapped in it.The man was seated on the top branch of the tree and he had what looked like a flat board on his lap.The man moved his arm over the board and said, "Check," once more.

The wind howled and the man sat quietly for a moment.His hand waved over the board and again he said, "Check."

"Excuse me, sir," called Robert.

The man seemed to jump slightly before looking down at the confused man.

"What might you be doing at the top of that tree?" he asked the man.

"One moment," the man in the white clothing called out and waved his hand over the board again.

The wind howled and the man threw his arms into the air."That's checkmate," he yelled, "I can't believe you won again."

The man knocked a collection of small wooden carvings off of the board, which fell to the ground in front of Robert.He then dropped the board, which landed in much the same place as the carvings, some of which seemed to Robert to be of a dark coloured wood, and others were a light wood.The board itself appeared to have a strange design on it as well, with alternating squares of both light and dark wood much like the carvings.It seemed like a strange sort of thing to have with him at the top of the tree and Robert immediately decided that the man was eccentric.

The man leapt from the top branch and landed softly on the ground beside his board and carvings.Robert had been examining the items from a distance and hadn't seen the man jump, and if he had seen him jump, the opinion would have instantly become "insane."The man reached out his right hand, which Robert cautiously took after having been scared witless by the man's sudden appearance."Good day to you," said the man as their hands detached, "you must be Robert."

The man's knowledge of Robert's name surprised the traveler, "Yes," he said, reluctantly.

"Great, I've been waiting for you," said the man.

Despite the fact that Robert's opinion of the man hadn't officially changed to insane when he jumped from the tree, it did at this moment."Come with me," continued the man as he put an arm around Robert's shoulder and began leading him along the lightly worn path.

"How do you know my name?" asked Robert.

"Mother Earth told me," said the man to Robert's astonishment, "I believe you are acquainted with her."

Robert was beginning to think himself insane for even associating with the man who wore the white cloth, which turned out to be a thin cotton cloak."I am I think," said Robert.

"You think?" asked the man, "You sound doubtful."

"I am," said Robert, finding it hard to believe that he was actually having this conversation with this man whom he didn't even know the name of.

"Well don't be.Mother Earth is the most kind and gentle soul I have ever known."

Robert thought for a moment, trying to think of a way he could ask who the man was without sounding foolish.Finally, he gave in to the nagging need to know, "Who are you?" he asked.

The man stopped walking and Robert turned to his surprised face."You mean, you don't know who I am?" he asked in support of the surprised look.

"No," answered Robert.

"I was sure Mother Earth would have told you about me, but I see she's forgotten again.You know, she'd forget to make the oceans move if she didn't have the wind to remind her."

Robert didn't quite understand what he meant by this, but it didn't matter.The man was talking again and Robert lost his train of thought."I bet she told you all kinds of stories about dancing with the moon at the dawn of time, or the time when she got her trees caught on Mars' ice caps and it took years to get themselves untangled," Robert remembered the stories, "but she couldn't be bothered to mention me, not once."

The man seemed quite disturbed by the fact that Mother Earth had never mentioned his name to Robert.Robert didn't quite understand why, but it seemed important to the man in white."Alright, since she can't be bothered, I guess it's up to me to tell you.My name is Angenog.I am of a mythical race known as The Cloud People.We're called that for one distinct reason, which is, of course, that we live in the clouds.There was once a relative of mine named Mary; maybe you've heard of her.No, you couldn't have.Anyway, I have many things that I can tell you to aid you on your quest and I shall be there when I know them to tell you."

It was a lot for Robert to try and take in at once.The only thing that made some sense to him was the possibility that the man might have something to tell him that would help him in finding the truth about what happened before The Great Beginning."Do you have something to tell me now?" he asked.

"Of course," said Angenog, "I will whenever you see me from this day forth.That was something Mother Earth was supposed to tell you ten years ago, but obviously she forgot."

"Why hasn't she talked to me?" asked Robert, suddenly overcome by the realization that this man might know the answer to the question that had been bothering him for several years.

Angenog looked at Robert for a moment, "I was under the impression that she had been," he said.

"I haven't heard from her since my journey began over ten years ago," said Robert.

"You haven't heard from her," repeated Angenog, "By saying that you haven't heard from her, does that mean then that you haven't spoken to her?"

"Well I…" Robert didn't know what to say, but he was starting to realize the problem.

"There's your answer, my friend," said the man, confirming that what Robert was beginning to realize was the truth, "When Mother Earth doesn't need to talk to you, she wont do so willingly.You have to talk to her in order for her to talk to you."

Robert whacked himself in the head.He felt stupid and knew that Mother Earth was there listening to everything that was going on between the two men.He hoped he hadn't insulted her, though he was sure he had.After a moment, Robert remembered that Angenog had something to tell him, "You had something to tell me, right?" he said, trying to remind the man of his purpose.

"Yes, that's right," Angenog said, "It has come to my attention that there is an old ruin buried in the Chainsaw mountains further south from here. These ruins somehow survived The Great Beginning and may hold a key to the past, which Mother Earth so carelessly forgot," he called those last few words deep into the forest to make sure he could hear his contempt.

Robert's eyes lit up with this new possibility.After ten years of searching, he was finally on a path that seemed even remotely possible."Thank you," cried Robert with great enthusiasm. 

"Don't thank my now," said the man in white, "Thank me when your quest is over."

Robert didn't take the man's advice.He thanked Angenog and shook the man's hand again.Excitement began to race through his blood and every hair on his body seemed to stand on end.He backed away from Angenog as he began to make his way south.

He didn't want to turn away from the man just yet.He felt that it would be somehow rude of him to turn so soon, but he knew he had to turn sooner or later.As he let his eyes fall away from the man in white and he began to turn, his eye caught a glimpse of something in the dirt at the base of a tree further up the path from where they had come.Robert was suddenly reminded of something he had been meaning to ask Angenog, "One more thing," he began, "What were you doing at the top of that tree?"

Angenog looked at Robert with a sly grin, "Playing chess with the wind, of course," he said, and promptly disappeared.


	6. Part 1: Chapter 6

This Place was as usual: the people were cheerful, the trees were plentiful, and the buildings grew larger and larger

This Place was as usual: the people were cheerful, the trees were plentiful, and the buildings grew larger and larger.Children ran about like rats in search of food while the adults walked from place to place, spending their money or making more.Robert walked among them with an obvious look of loathing.Every smiling face, every sound of laughter seemed to taunt him._We're rich, we're rich, they seemed to call.__We made a fortune off your rock, Robert.A fortune._

Robert sneered at some children as they pranced past with chunks of gold in their hands; he knew where they had found it._Look what you lost, Robert.What you lost.Robert thought of snatching the rocks from their hands, claiming them as his rightful possessions, but he held himself back.__I can't let myself become one of them, he thought to himself._

He entered the town's tavern and sat down on a barstool.The bartender approached him, as expected, and offered Robert a drink."Yes, thank you," said Robert, and a moment later he was handed a gold plated mug of ale. 

Robert looked at the mug and snarled._The nerve of these people, he thought, __this is my gold; it should have stayed in the rock where I liked it.Just then, a man abruptly sat himself down on the stool next to Robert.Robert looked at the man, who conspicuously was looking right back at him.They stared at each other for a moment before the man said, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"_

Robert turned on the stool, "I highly doubt it," he said as he stood up to walk away.

"Yes," argued the man as he turned and followed Robert with a taunting grin, "You're the fool hermit who claimed that the gold mine was his."

Robert turned to the man, "It wasn't a mine; it was a rock, and yes it was mine."

The man laughed out loud at the claim."In all my years, that has always been the funniest thing I've ever heard," a few other men joined in the laughter, "I remember the day that Old Phil came to the bunch of us and said a silly yap was going around claiming ownership of our gold.We laughed for days."

Robert filled with anger, but managed to find some control over himself.He stared at the man and his mocking cohorts and tried with all his might to burn a hole through them, but to no avail of course.He took a swig of ale and slammed the mug down onto a nearby table.He turned and stormed out of the tavern followed only by the heightened laughter.As he stomped up the street past all the people whom he despised even more than the taunting, he began to feel as though coming to This Place had been a mistake.

He began to make his way to the southern most entrance to the town, intent on leaving as soon as possible.If it had been anyone else, they may have thought it logical to spend the night in This Place where it was warm and better protected.Robert, on the other hand, would rather be gnawed to death by a monkey than spend one night in This Place, especially if the monkey was high on the sugars of a banana at the time. 

As he made his way south through the city, he was forced to pass the spot where his beloved rock had once stood.Now a gigantic hole in the ground, the memories flooded back and a tear formed in Robert's eye.He turned his face from the horrid sight and kept moving.He didn't look forward again until he stood at the gates to the town. 

He stopped there for a moment and sighed._Why did I come here? he wondered.Just then, a voice from behind him called out, "You there, wait!"_

Robert turned to see what was happening, assuming there had been some sort of robbery that had taken place.Instead, a man was jogging towards him with his arm in the air, waving it about like a fool."Wait," he called again.

Robert recognized the man from the bar.When the man began taunting him, Robert had noticed this man next to him at the bar as he turned on his stool.The man had looked as though he had recognized Robert as well, but had said nothing.Now here he was running towards Robert as though he had something urgent in mind, but Robert couldn't for the life of him think of what it could be.

The man wore a light brown tunic with a slightly darker pair of pants pulled up above it.The pants were held up by a black leather belt wrapped around his waist.On his feet, the man wore a pair of brown heavy work boots, covered in a thin layer of dried clay, which suggested that he worked in the mine and made it awkward for the man to run.As the man approached, Robert noticed that the man's hair was also a light brown shade and would probably be able to hide well in the sands of The Unexplored Deserts to the east.When the man stood a foot or so away from Robert, he stopped and began to draw in heavy breaths, worn out from his run."What is it you want?" asked Robert.

The man stood up again, one hand on his belly as he continued to breath heavily.Sweat dripped down his forehead and Robert knew the man was terribly out of shape."My name is Tribbon," said the man.

Robert waited for more, but none came, "And?" he urged.

"I remember you, just like Morgan Fritz, the man in the bar, only I don't wish to mock you."

"What do you want, then?" asked Robert.

"Well sir," he began as though he was about to start a long story, and indeed he did, "I had heard a while back that you had been seen in Town, but I never quite knew why.That was over twenty years ago and at that time we all thought you to be a loony.I next heard that you were up in the vicinity of what is now Forestville, but then it was only still a dream.After that you disappeared for a few years and most forgot about you, but I didn't.

"I began to wonder about you.Had you been telling the truth about the rock?Were you just more than a lonely hermit whose home was ruined when we moved in?I became fascinated with you, though I never knew what you looked like or whether you would despise me if we ever met.

"One day I received a book on my doorstep, a man had placed it there as he passed by.I later learned that the man was our beloved Phil, who had purchased a copy of this book for everyone in the town.I looked at the cover of the book and read it out loud, 'The Bibble.'I opened the cover to see more of this strange book and saw there on the first page, 'Written by Robert Willex.'

"I was stunned to see your name in print upon this rather large book which I had received so ironically from the very man who had stolen your rock from you – by this time I was quite sympathetic towards you and had published many anonymous flyers on your behalf.

"I decided, then and there, that you were a holy man and that I would follow you to the ends of the earth.When I saw you in the bar, there was something about you that seemed different, and when Morgan said your name, my eyes were filled with joy.At last, I had found my mentor and we could be together at last."

Robert listened to the story that Tribbon seemed quite enthusiastic about.He wasn't sure what to think about it; it was all quite sudden and very surprising."You followed me here because you consider me your mentor?" he asked finally.

"Yes," said Tribbon, "and also because I picked up your tab at the tavern.You owe me four gold nuggets."

Robert looked at the smiling face of the man who started to giggle."I'm only pulling your leg," crowed the man, "How could I possibly ask you to pay me back?"

Robert was starting to get the impression that he wasn't going to be getting rid of the man any time soon."I believe," started Tribbon once more causing Robert to cringe as he expected another long story, "that you are on a quest."

Robert relaxed slightly as he realized that the man had stopped talking before expected."A quest?" he asked cautiously, "what sort of quest?"

Tribbon smiled, "A holy one," he said.

Robert looked shocked a little, but after having no one to talk to about his journeys for so long, he found it hard to resist gloating about them."Well, I wouldn't call it a holy quest.It's more of a quest for the earth," he said. 

"What do you mean?" asked Tribbon, and Robert suddenly found that he was going to have to come up with a pretty good explanation aside from saying that he converses with Mother Earth.

He thought for a moment, but soon decided that Tribbon would probably believe anything Robert tried to tell him, so he did.

"You talk to Mother Earth?" exclaimed Tribbon in awe, "That's amazing!"

Robert found this praise somewhat flattering and continued, "I was asked by Mother Earth to seek something out for her," Tribbon's eyes widened, "She requested that I to discover what happened to her before The Great Beginning."

Tribbon grew excited, "That's astonishing.I can hardly believe it, you truly are a holy man," Robert blushed slightly, "But you said,_ 'before The Great Beginning.'Where do we find information from that era?" he asked._

Robert was suddenly faced with the reality of the situation – he had a follower."Are you suggesting that you're planning on following me everywhere I go?" he asked.

Tribbon nodded vigorously and Robert sighed.It seemed futile to try and rid himself of the man, so he let himself succumb to the fact that he now had company, "I've been told of a building in the Chainsaw Mountains that may hold a major key to the truth.I'm going to find it."

"This sounds like an adventure," cried the man.

"Indeed," sighed Robert, who was beginning to think he was going to be sighing a lot over the next little while.

Together, the odd couple disappeared into the forest with the jagged images of a mountain range looming on the distant horizon.Robert could only hope that they would hold the end of his journey.Only time would tell.


	7. Part 1: Chapter 7

The sun rose from behind the Chainsaw Mountains shedding light on This Place

The sun rose from behind the Chainsaw Mountains shedding light on This Place.People were quick to work as the first rays fell upon the dirty road.Workers disappeared over the edge of the pit into the mine; shopkeepers pulled the curtains open on their shop doors and placed a piece of wood marked "open" in the window; children ran scampering about in the early hours before school began.In a shaded area near the tavern, Morgan Fritz was gathered with a group of men dressed in traveling garb.

"All right," he said to the men, "now that we're all here, we can prepare for the Outtaking."

The Outtaking was a ritualistic mission taken on every five years by a group of six men from the town of This Place.Hidden in the dark reaches of the Chainsaw Mountains was a race of mountain goat that could be found in no other mountain ranges known to the land.These goats were known as Hobbles, and had one strange attribute that made them quite extraordinary.Hobbles, though mountain goat in origin, they shared a chromosome or two with chickens and could be identified by the distinct sound of gobbling.

The six men were selected by the town's leader and sent into the mountains to hunt and retrieve six live Hobbles for the occasion.Six days after the Outtaking began, there was a massive festive gathering in the town square where the people of This Place would watch as the Hobbles were pitted against pigs in a vast arena, which was nothing more than a very shallow pool.

The Hobble-Gobble Hogwash, as the ceremony had become known, was originally done with chickens against chickens, and for that reason had been known as cockfighting.But, to the dismay of chicken farmers in the area, people began to feel sorry for the chickens and so cockfighting was deemed unfit for their society.Desperate to find something new to use instead of chickens, six such farmers headed off into the heights of the Chainsaw Mountains in search of the mythical Hobble, which soon became less mythical and more endangered as six Hobbles were caught and brought back to town.

The men then constructed an arena for the Hobbles to fight in, which wasn't originally filled with water.Fearing that the townspeople would object to the usage of chickens as opponents for each Hobble, the farmers brought a large pig for each to battle.The event, then known as the Hobble Wars, was a great success.

The next year, the farmers decided to return to the place in the mountains where they had found their prey, since they had been forced to eat their first catches out of pure curiosity.To their dismay, they found no Hobbles.They searched and searched for six days before giving up the search.They returned to the town empty handed and the town was disappointed by not having another Hobble Wars.

The men didn't bother returning to the spot the following year.Their disappointment and shame from the year before was enough to throw them off entirely.No one returned to the spot in the Chainsaw Mountains for two years until one day, five years after the first event, when a group of curious young men ventured up into the mountains looking for mischief.Instead, they stumbled upon a herd of Hobbles, which they caught.

The old arena was pulled out of an old barn and placed in Town Square where people gathered to watch the Hobbles battle a handful of pigs, which had been eagerly donated by the farmers who had founded the original game.

The day of the event was cold and muggy.The sky had clouded over and soon it began to rain.By midday, the rain subsided and the clouds parted to let the sun shine through.Gleeful at the sign of sunlight, the townspeople rushed to the square in hopes of having the Hobble Wars.When they arrived, they found that the arena had filled with rainwater and was now a pond in the centre of Town Square.

At first, people were disappointed and the six young men were confused as to what they would do.Finally, one of them said, "Who cares about the water," and placed his captive Hobble into the water.The other five men followed in the first's footsteps and the pigs were set into the pond as well.The people gathered once more and found that the Hobble Wars were much more entertaining in the water than out.

Five years later, a different group of men ventured into the mountains and returned with six more Hobbles for the wars.The arena was set up and filled with water, as it had been, five years earlier, by the rain.The tradition was forged.

"Have you all got your sacks?" asked Morgan Fritz.

There was a grunt of responses from the five men around him as they confirmed the fact that they each had a sack."Well then," Morgan said, "that's all the preparation I need.Let's go catch some Hobbles."

The six men turned and followed the streets to the edge of town.Following Morgan Fritz's lead, the company plunged into the forest, full of determination for their six-day expedition into the high cliffs of the Chainsaw Mountains.


	8. Part 1: Chapter 8

As the sun stepped out from behind the crest of the Chainsaw Mountains, Robert gathered himself from his spot around the fire 

As the sun stepped out from behind the crest of the Chainsaw Mountains, Robert gathered himself from his spot around the fire pit.Tribbon was still fast asleep and Robert could tell that the man was going to slow him down in the end.Robert adjusted his cloak and pulled the hood over his head.There was a chill in the air and his ears were beginning to show their disagreement with it.

He walked to where the man in brown lay and hovered over him for a moment, hoping that the man might have some sense of personal space and wake.No such luck.Robert bent down and tapped the man on his shoulder, but still got no response.Robert opened his hand wide, taking the tap a little further and patted the man's shoulder.The man squirmed and grunted, but still lay asleep.Frustration got the better of him and Robert grabbed Tribbon by the shoulders and yanked him to his feet.

Tribbon was awake by the time his feet reached the ground."What?" he cried, "What's this all about?"

Robert let go of Tribbon's shoulders, "It's time to head out," he said.

Tribbon looked at Robert as though he had lobsters crawling out his ears."Do you have any idea what time it is?" he exclaimed.

Robert nodded, "Of course I do," he said with a grin, "Now pack up and get ready to go."

Tribbon had really spread himself out.Somehow, from within his tunic, he had manage to produce a blanket, a pillow, and some other sleeping gizmos that seemed highly unnecessary for the journey at hand.Robert found a piece of bread from within his cloak and ate a part of it while Tribbon went about packing his things into his tunic. 

Together they marched through the trees towards the mountains before them.They still couldn't see the base of the Chainsaw Mountains, but they cliffs loomed above the tops of the trees in sharp, jagged rises.They pressed on through the trees for nearly an hour before the trees gave way and the rocky hills lay before them. 

They marched on all day, climbing through the rocks along a slightly worn path that wound up towards the heights.The sun was nearing the western horizon, creating a dazzling sunset against the sky and the few clouds that hovered in it.The rounded a boulder and began to walk on a rock surface.They had risen past the land and had found their way into the mountain itself.Darkness was beginning to fall and still they hadn't reached a possible location to sleep the night.Tribbon began to get restless, they hadn't spoken much during the day and Robert didn't mind at all, but now Tribbon was worried.A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead and his breathing became a little unsteady."Where are we going to camp tonight?" he asked finally.

Robert turned to his companion and said, "On this path if we have to, but I'm continuing on until it's too dark to see the path, just in case there is a suitable location further along."

Tribbon didn't like the idea, but he kept going along anyway since he didn't really have much choice.The sun finally fell below the horizon and the twilight hours began.The path wound further and further along with no sign of a place to camp.Finally, Robert stopped walking and turned to his companion."Look there," he said.

The path was winding back the way they had come on the other side of a chasm.The path curved a few hundred meters in front of where they stood, and the curve lasted for a few more hundred meters.He was pointing to where the path turned out of sight across the chasm."By the time we get that far," he continued, "it'll be too dark to see anything.We might as well stop now."

Tribbon's face became grim in the darkness, but he knew that he still had no choice.He sat down on the path, which now seemed rather thin and unsuitable for sleeping on.He pulled the blanket out of his tunic and left the other items in place.He curled up on the cold rock path and eventually drifted off to sleep.

The sun lifted into the sky and light was shed on the path where the two men slept.Robert sat up and tried to stretch the stiffness out of his bones.Finding it much more of a chore than he wanted, he shook Tribbon's shoulder.Tribbon opened his eyes and was startled to find that he had rolled in his sleep and now lay with his head partially over the chasm.Strewn along the bottom were many large and sharp looking rocks that seemed miles below the path.He nearly jumped to his feet and gripped the rock face behind him, trying not to fall.Robert chuckled to himself before handing the man's blanket to him before it could fall into the chasm.

The two men followed the path until noon when they found themselves in a grass covered field surrounded by mountainous cliffs.There were trees all around the field, but not dense whatsoever.A small waterfall fell from the heights near the far side of the field.Robert wondered where the stream was going, but he was more interested in what he could see in the field.

There was a herd of about seven or eight goat creatures gathered in the field, eating the grass.The funny thing wasn't that there were goats in the mountain, but it was the sound that they seemed to be making.To his eyes, he could see goats; to his ears, he could hear chickens."What are they?" he asked in awe. 

"Hobbles," replied Tribbon.

Robert looked quizzically at his companion.Never had Robert heard of something called a Hobble."I've never heard of it," he said, causing Tribbon to laugh.

"That would be because there are indigenous to the Chainsaw Mountains.You can't find them anywhere else in the land."

Robert was astounded beyond his former awe."Every five years, people from This Place come here to hunt the Hobbles and take back to town for the Hobble-Gobble Hogwash," continued Tribbon.

"The Hobble-Gobble Hogwash?In all my travels of the land, I have never heard of such a thing," said Robert in surprise, figuring that he had seen it all.

"Six men are selected each year to participate.They each capture a Hobble and take it back to town.Then, it is placed in an arena for a battle with pigs.If their Hobble survives the first round, then it is put up against more until either it dies or there are no more Hobbles left in the competition.The man who's Hobble survives is given more gold than he can handle and is forced to retire to other parts of the land.Whoever wins, though, gets to keep any pigs that his Hobble kills."

"That seems like a rather barbaric ritual," said Robert in disgust, "When is the next competition to be held?"

"In a few days, the hunting party was due to depart yesterday, which means they'll be here soon."

"Oh," said Robert, unable to think of anything more to add just yet.

"Morgan Fritz is actually one of the participants," added Tribbon.

"That man is coming here?" asked Robert in sudden fear of more taunting.

Tribbon nodded."Any time today?" asked Robert.

Tribbon nodded."I suggest we hurry then.We don't want to get in their way when they arrive, do we?" the question wasn't directed at anyone, and didn't need answering.Robert walked into the field looking for a way to go further into the mountain range.He walked up a small hill and stood at its crest.Before him was the small waterfall, which plummeted into a small pool before running off into a stream that traveled across the field and disappeared into the rocks on the other side.There was something odd about the stream thought that got Robert thinking.It wasn't really anything to do with the stream itself, but with the man who sat in it.The man reached into the water and moved his arm around before pulling it out again while calling, "King me." 

Robert recognized the man immediately."Who's that?" asked Tribbon, who was now standing beside Robert at the top of the hill.

"That would be Angenog," said Robert, and without waiting for a response, walked down the other side of the hill to where Angenog sat in the stream.

Angenog reached into the water once more and moved his arm around again.As Robert approached, Angenog turned and waved at him, "Hello," he called as he stood up, dripping all over the ground.

"Good day to you, Angenog," said Robert as he arrived a few feet from the dripping man who still stood in the stream.

Once there, Robert took a quick glance into the stream at the same board with dark and light squares lying on the stream's bed.There were a number of flat disks, similarly coloured, lying on top of the board in a strange fashion as well and Robert quickly began wondering what the man had been doing in the stream."Ah, I see you've found your companion," said Angenog as Tribbon stepped up next to Robert, "Now you're all set."

"All set for what?" asked Robert.

"Finding the place I told you about," said Angenog.

"Okay," said Robert, "so where is it?"

"Glad you asked," said Angenog, "and you'll never believe the answer."

He stepped over the board with its disks and walked toward the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.As he passed it, Robert noticed a dark disk bounce from one dark square to another over light disks that were then lifted from the board and strewn about on the streams bed. _Odd, thought Robert, but quickly turned his attention to the dripping man in white."Look," said Angenog and pointed to the pool's surface._

Robert peered into the depths of the pool and saw that it was deeper that it seemed.There was a small hole in the bottom of the pool that carried on into darkness.Robert looked at Angenog and said, "Don't tell me that's where I need to go."

"It is," said Angenog, "Through that hole, you will find a tunnel leading deep into the mountain where it opens up into a large chamber where you will find the building in which you seek."

"Why didn't you go?" asked Robert, "You speak to Mother Earth, so why didn't you go and find the answer for her?"

"Because, my friend, she gave you this quest and only you can carry it out," he replied.

"So regardless as to whether you're better fit to perform this particular act, it is I who must do so simply because Mother Earth wishes it?"

"That's correct," said Angenog.

Robert looked at Angenog curiously; he then looked at Tribbon peculiarly; he then looked at the Hobble standing next to Tribbon, gobbling like a chicken and quite intrigued by the events unfolding near the drinking pond."What do you think?" he asked the Hobble.

The Hobble, which appeared to have a rather rooster-like head with a goat shaped body and horns curling out from behind its ears.The creature cocked its head sideways and chirped in response to Robert's question."I take it then that you don't understand me," said Robert, whose words seemed to cause the Hobble to wander off in disgust.

"All right, I'll go," he said finally.

"Excellent," piped Angenog, "I have something for you that I was instructed to deliver in the event of your agreement.Now where did I put that…ah, here it is."

Angenog fished around in his pockets until pulling something out from within a hidden pocket."This is of great importance and will one day be the deciding factor between life and death," the man seemed quite pleased with himself as he placed the long shaft in Robert's hands.

Robert examined the shaft, which appeared to simply be a long metallic pole.There was really nothing special about the pole aside from the fact that it was unusually light.It was about an inch in diameter and slightly longer than a metre.The dark grey tone of its colour made it look even more like a useless piece of scrap metal."What is it?" he asked the strange man.

"What does it look like?" returned Angenog.

"A pole.A plain ordinary pole."

"And that, my friend, is what it is," the smile on Angenog's face suggested that he found some humour in the situation, but Robert couldn't find it.

"But it's useless!" argued Robert.

"Is it?" said Angenog, causing the field to go silent for a moment as a dramatic reversal of things took place.

After a moment's thought, Robert replied, "Yes."

Angenog stepped back appalled, "So what, it's still a fine pole and it might come in handy."

Robert gave the man in white a look that seemed to burn through the man, but it didn't have the desired effect.A moment later, the cheerful face had returned to the man, and he continued to find humour in the anything but funny situation."Carry on then," he said as he began to stroll back along the stream to where he had been sitting with his strange board.

Robert continued to try and burn a hole through Angenog's shoulder with his eyes, but gave up."Okay Tribbon, I'm not going to lie to you.I don't know for sure, but there is a very good chance that we might die in this pond today.Are you prepared for this?"

Tribbon looked disgruntled and slightly shocked.He thought for a moment before giving a rather hesitant nod."All right then," said Robert, but suddenly turned to Angenog in curiosity, "Angenog, just what was it you were doing in the stream when we arrived here?"

Angenog turned around to face his questioner, "Playing checkers with the stream," he said, and promptly disappeared.

"What a strange person," said Tribbon.

"Indeed he is," said Robert, turning his attention back to the pond, "Let's get this over with and hope we don't regret it in the morning."

With that having been said, he tucked the pole into his cloak and dropped through the hole in the bottom of the pond.


	9. Part 1: Chapter 9

The roar of the water hitting the surface above Robert's head filled the ambient silence under the water

The roar of the water hitting the surface above Robert's head filled the ambient silence under the water.He opened his eyes to see the murky green of the incandescent gloominess.Light from above reflected off rock walls in the water, but only looked like a blurry gray blob.

The water was cold against Robert's skin and he was beginning to regret jumping in so suddenly.He looked around for an opening to go further into the mountain through, but could see nothing without light.His lungs started to hurt and he pulled himself to the surface for air.Tribbon stood at the edge of the pond looking at Robert."You look cold," he said.

Robert looked at Tribbon with a look that seemed to say, "You think?" but instead he said, "I can't see anything down there.I need a light."

Tribbon looked dumbfounded."A light?" he asked.

"Yes, a light so I can see where to go, let alone where I'm going once I get there."

"Would a lantern help?" he asked.

"Yes, I suppose a lantern would help, but only if it worked under water," said Robert angrily.

"Oh yes, I see what you mean," said Tribbon as he continued to think.

After a few minutes of thinking, Tribbon suddenly grew slightly excited.He reached into his tunic and pulled out a little rock, "Would a glowrock be of some use?"

Glowrocks, though highly rare to the land, were rather handy items for people on the go.The rocks were known for their luminescent qualities in dark places.There was a time when they were spread across the land and it seemed like nearly everyone had to have one.Then, after time, they became scarce and eventually nearly unheard of.Anyone who found one was truly a lucky individual and could probably sell it for more than an entire gold mine's worth.

Robert looked at the stone sitting in the palm of Tribbon's hand.He had traveled the land for ten years and had only seen a glowrock once, but he hadn't realized it."Is that really a glowrock?" he asked in surprise.

Tribbon nodded as Robert carefully took the rock from Tribbon's hand.He held it in his palm carefully judging it's weight.The stone intrigued him as he rolled it from one hand to the other.It was a gray stone, perfectly smooth and round.It had been polished at one time or another and was as close to beauty as a rock could be.

Robert turned to the pond and plummeted back into the depths.Tribbon stepped closer to the edge of the pond to gaze into the hole and saw Robert down in the hole holding the glowrock out to light the walls.Robert soon resurfaced for air exclaiming, "I don't believe it."

He remained bobbing in the water, staring at the stone for a moment before turning to Tribbon."Let's go," he said and dropped back into the water. 

Tribbon looked around.He felt as though he was being watched, but quickly shrugged it off.He stepped forward and disappeared into the pond.At the top of the hill in the field near the pond, a grim looking face looked curiously towards the pond where two people had just disappeared.Tribbon's instincts had been correct; he was being watched by Morgan Fritz.


	10. Part 1: Chapter 10

Morgan Fritz stepped up to the edge of the pond, Hobble in his left hand and a large sack for it in his right

Morgan Fritz stepped up to the edge of the pond, Hobble in his left hand and a large sack for it in his right.He looked down into the pond at the hole, curious as to what was down there and why Tribbon had gone there.Morgan had known Tribbon for years, but never thought much of the man.Tribbon was an eccentric individual in Morgan's eyes, but Tribbon's presence here still puzzled him.He let the Hobble go and dropped his sack to the ground. 

One of the other villagers came up beside him, "What's the matter?" asked the man.

"Nothing, just continue hunting the creatures."

"But Morgan, you've dropped your sack and you're Hobble is getting away," the other man pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that and I have it all under control, Murdoc.Just go back to the hunt, it's what's important."

Murdoc Frew had always been a mysterious character; no one knew very much about him.He had simply appeared one day from seemingly nowhere, and spoke nothing of a past.All he had said was that he was looking for a change in surroundings and a new lifestyle, so he thought he'd try being a gold miner for a while.The people of This Place were uncertain at first, thrown off by the man's taste in black clothing and strange attitude, but they soon grew to accept him.

Morgan continued to stare into the hold as he guessed what might be in there.It occurred to him that maybe it was from this place that the Hobbles came from and that Tribbon was trying to get in on the mother load.His curiosity was joined by a jealous rage, and his eyes began to see things with a slight red tinge to them.

Murdoc Frew continued to watch Morgan from a distance, unsure of what the man was doing.He watched as Morgan stepped forward into the pond and then disappeared from sight.His eyes widened and his mouth dropped."Jeffin," he called, "Morgan just disappeared into that pool."

Jeffan Fritz, Morgan's younger brother, rushed to Murdoc's side."What did you say?" he asked, unsure if he had heard correctly. 

"Morgan just disappeared into that pool over at the base of the waterfall," said Murdoc in a less concise version of the event.

Jeffan felt the start of panic rolling over him.He was one who always followed his brother's lead, looked up to him, and didn't know what he would do without him.Morgan was everything to Jeffan and he had no direction without Morgan to point him in it.Jeffan stood and looked to the other three men who chased Hobbles around the field to their right."Hebin," he yelled across the field.One of the men stopped hunting for a moment and looked towards the voice."Set up camp here, don't wait for Morgan or I, and most certainly don't come looking for us.I'll explain later, but for now, just do what I say and don't make a mess of things."

Jeffan turned and began towards the pond.Murdoc grasped his arm, "You aren't following him, are you?" he asked.

"Of course," said Jeffan as he shook his arm free. 

Murdoc watched as Jeffan Fritz followed after Morgan into the pool.He stared a little longer afterward, hoping that someone might appear again, but there was no such luck.He stood up and joined the other hunters who were hesitantly setting up camp.The orders were strange, but they were orders all the same.He sat himself down next to the newly made fire and watched as the wood caught fire.As a glint of the fire reflected in Murdoc's seemingly black eyes, he sat reminiscing over what it was like to be invisible.


	11. Part 1: Chapter 11

The gloomy glimmer of the glowrock seemed to reflect off the water, though it was hard for Robert to tell

The gloomy glimmer of the glowrock seemed to reflect off the water, though it was hard for Robert to tell.He held the rock out in front of him between his thumb and forefinger as it guided the way into the darkness below the pond.Tribbon was close behind, treading through the water following the form of Robert that was lit with an aura created by the glowrock.

Deeper they swam into the depths of the hole.It had been a fairly long time since they had dropped into the murky water, though they still held their breath.How they managed to do this is either beyond explanation or is simply something that the author chooses to leave unexplained since explaining it would prove how utterly impossible a good portion of this story is, and that there really is no point to any of it.Either way, ten or fifteen minutes later they're still swimming happily through the passage.

The small, roughly square tunnel turned on right angles several times and by now Robert and Tribbon had no clue which direction they were heading in.There had been no other passages branching off from the one tunnel, so they figured that as long as they kept heading straight they'd be fine.Finally, after twenty minutes or so, they emerged into a pitch-black cavern that seemed to span for miles in all directions.

Tribbon knelt down at the edge of the pool that they had emerged from and placed both hands on the floor.Taking deep breaths, he raised himself so he was sitting on his feet.Robert was doing something similar a metre away."How long were we in there?" he asked Robert as his eyes drifted back to the gloomy surface of the pool.

"Twenty minutes or so I'd figure," said Robert in a mater-of-fact tone.

"Any idea how we held our breath that long?"

"Not a clue," said Robert, letting his eyes shift left and right rapidly, "I guess it must be beyond explanation."

The matter was dropped as they began their journey once more.Robert held the glowrock out before them and they commenced walking into the darkness.Before long, the darkness consumed them.


	12. Part 1: Chapter 12

The pool exploded with a fury of water as Morgan Fritz burst from the passage, gasping for air

The pool exploded with a fury of water as Morgan Fritz burst from the passage, gasping for air.He grasped onto the edge of the pool and breathed heavily for a moment before pulling himself out of the chilled water.He sat for a moment to calm his breathing before standing in the pitch-blackness.He looked left, then right, though it made no difference which way he looked; everything was black.He turned around and wondered whether he had really turned around or not.He was lost already.

Just then, the pool exploded once more right in front of Morgan giving him a brief idea of where he was in the cave.A loud gasp rose though the stale air and the noisemaker climbed out of the pool."Who's there?" asked Morgan.

"It's me," said the noisemaker, "your brother."

"Jeffan?What are you doing here?"

"I followed you," said Jeffan Fritz as he calmed his breathing, "I didn't know what to do when that shadowy character, Murdoc, reported that you had disappeared into the pool at the waterfall.I figured you might be in danger so I followed you."

"Well I'm not in danger," stated Morgan, "but I am glad you're here."

The brothers had been close since Jeffan's birth.They had grown up together in the woods just north of This Place where their father owned and operated a farm.They had been taught in the ways of farming, but Morgan had always prided himself on his ability to hunt.Jeffan also found the hunt more enjoyable than any farming could ever possibly hope to be, that is, if it could possibly hope to be anything.Together they would venture out into the woods and be gone for days and return with a large deer or occasionally a small or medium sized bear.Though he tried not to show it too often, Morgan valued his brother's presence on any hunt, which is precisely why he had been brought to hunt the Hobbles in the first place.

"What are you doing in this cave?" asked Jeffan after the brothers had grasped hands in greeting.

"How familiar are you with the man known as Tribbon?" Morgan answered with another question.

"I know little of this Tribbon fellow, only that you are not fond of him."

"Indeed I am not.Tribbon has crossed my path many times and each time he has gotten in my way.It started when I was two, a year before you were born.Mother had taken me into town and was about to buy me a piece of candy from Old Man Tilbo, but I never got that candy.Tribbon and his mother had also come to town that day and he too got a piece of candy from Tilbo, but he got their first and received the last piece of candy.I still hate him for that, that rotten thief.Years to come he would get in my way: steeling my prey, steeling my jobs, even steeling my women.

"Just as we came into that clearing, I saw Tribbon drop into the pool under the waterfall.I became curious as to what he might find inside the pool and imagined a vast fortune of buried treasure," Morgan paused and then continued, "If that is true, and there really is a treasure here, I plan to steel it from Tribbon.Revenge can be sweet if you only let it."

If it weren't incredibly dark, Jeffan would have been able to see a glare in his brother's eyes, an obsession building or possibly already built.Instead, he was forced to hear it in his brother's voice."All right," said Jeffan, cautiously, "so where is Tribbon?"

Morgan looked into the darkness and said, "Out there," and he gestured with an invisible arm towards the vast darkness of the cave, which was actually the wall of cave since he really didn't know where he was facing anymore.

"I guess we'll need a light then," said Jeffan, "but all I have is a flint and a rock."

"Well I happen to have a stick," said Morgan, and the two of them went about lighting the stick on fire.

First, Morgan tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it tightly around one end of his stick.He then doused the fabric with what was once called whisky and is now referred to as booze, along with most other forms of alcohol regardless of smell, taste, or colour.Once the fabric had been drenched, Morgan took a swig of his booze as Jeffan attempted to light the fabric.After several tries and many swigs on the canteen that held Morgan's booze, the torch was burning and they could finally see where they were."That's better," said Morgan who was now a little woozy from his drinking.

"Look," said Jeffan as he pointed to the floor, "There is a thick layer of dust on the floor and there are footprints leading into the darkness."

"Good work, Jeffan," Morgan smacked his brother on the back, proving that he may have had a little too much to drink.

Jeffan, after a short recovery from the blow, took the torch from his brother and began following the footprints."Come on," he called over his shoulder, and Morgan followed after in a gleeful, yet stumbling manner.


	13. Part 1: Chapter 13

Throughout the majority of their exploration, Robert and Tribbon had heard nothing but the sound of their own footsteps

Throughout the majority of their exploration, Robert and Tribbon had heard nothing but the sound of their own footsteps.Their exploration took seemingly hours and was incredibly boring.Finally, after three long and tedious hours of wandering in circles and from every which way they could find, they began to hear a sound.

It started as a low hum, barely noticeably over their footsteps.Then Tribbon heard it and called them to a halt."What is it?" he whispered.

"I don't know," whispered Robert back.

"Where is it coming from?" whispered Tribbon.

"I don't know," 

"I think it's coming from over there," said Tribbon in a louder tone, but still almost a murmur, as he pointed though the incandescent glow of the glowrock into the darkness beyond the halo.

Without arguing, Robert began to wander in the direction Tribbon had indicated, and Tribbon followed with him.As they walked, the noise became louder, confirming that they were headed in the right direction.The noise quickly grew to become a roar, but more so a chugging roar, as though something wooden was repeatedly hitting another wooden thing.They continued their approach and before long the light of the glowrock began to touch the wall of the cave.They stopped at the wall and began following the sound to their right, following the wall as they went.Just then, Tribbon stopped suddenly and threw his arm in front of Robert to stop him as well."What is it?" called Robert over the noise.

Tribbon didn't reply; he only pointed to the ground in front of them.Robert looked and could see that the light from the glowrock wasn't hitting the ground in the same way it had been before.Instead, it seemed to show that they had reached a ledge, though there was something there, a liquid, but not water.Robert looked at his feet and saw that he was only one step from wandering into the pool.

He bent down and stuck his fore finger into the liquid and found it cold and smooth.He pulled his finger back out and looked at it.Even though the light from the glowrock was faint, he could tell that the liquid on his finger was pure black._It's a death-trap, he thought as he wiped the black substance on his pants._

Together, they skirted the pool, leaving the cavern wall behind and being careful to stay at least a good metre from the edge of the pool.The sound continued to get louder and after several minutes, maybe ten, the wall appeared once more before them and with it came the thing that created the noise.

Imbedded in the wall quite a few feet from the edge of the pool, a square shaped machine hovered over the black liquid with some kind of tube dropping beneath the surface.A second tube rose from the top of the box and disappeared into the darkness above, possibly as high as the ceiling itself.

Robert stared at the machine wondering how long it had been here; let alone what it was.He looked to Tribbon and saw that the man was questioning the same things in his own mind.It was then that Robert noticed that there was a structure imbedded into the wall about twenty feet above the ground.It wasn't above the pool, but it was as much a mystery to the two men as the pool was."What do you suppose it is?" asked Tribbon.

"I suppose it could be the building that Angenog spoke of," said Robert in an optimistic tone.

"If it is, I suppose we'd want to climb up there then," said Tribbon.

Robert gave him a look that said, "You think?" but Robert didn't say anything of the sort.Instead he said, "Yes, I suppose we will want to.What we need is a rope."

In the light of the glowrock, Robert watched as Tribbon's face lit up and his hand disappeared within his tunic.A moment later, the strange man fished out a coiled rope that looked more than thirty feet long.Robert stared at the man in near disbelief.Of all the things he had seen the man pull out of his tunic, this must have been the most bizarre."What are you doing carrying a rope that size around with you?" exclaimed Robert, unsure whether he wanted to hear the answer.

"I like to be prepared for the unexpected," said Tribbon.

Robert shook his head, trying not to wrap his mind around the concept.He took one end of the rope from Tribbon and looked at it; he then looked up at the structure, and then back at the rope."Problem," he reported.

Tribbon repeated the process of looking between the rope and the structure that Robert had just gone through before asking, "What's the problem?"

"We had a rope with nothing on the end of it, and a structure with nothing obvious for something to catch on if there was something on the end of the rope to grab with."

Tribbon blinked as he tried to follow the words that Robert said to him.Robert had said them rather quickly and Tribbon was finding it somewhat difficult, but in the end he thought he understood."Well I can fix the problem of putting something on the end of the rope," he said as he produced a three-pointed hook from within his tunic and tied it to the rope, "but I don't know about finding something for it to grab onto."

Robert was fighting the urge to think about the fact that a large hook had just appeared from the tunic and instead began formulating a plan."I suppose there would be no harm in simply throwing the rope and hoping it catches on something."

Tribbon thought for a moment, "No, I suppose you're right; there would be no harm in trying."

Robert took the end tied to the hook in his right hand and held the rest of the coil in his left hand.He stood in a stance that seemed appropriate for hauling the metal hook into the air towards the target and after a few spins, he let the rope fly.The hook clanked as it hit the wall of the structure and continued to clang as it fell down towards the ground, bouncing off the wall as if fell.Just when Robert's heart began to sink with the though of hopelessness, the hook clanked loudly once more and there was no further noise; the cavern was silent once more.

Tribbon was the first to move; he took hold of the rope and went to the base of the wall.Robert still stood in awe of the occurrence, and Tribbon looked back at him, "Come on, let's see what's up there."

Tribbon wrapped both hands around the rope and began the short climb towards the mysterious building in the wall.Robert hesitated until his feet found their ability to move and he joined his companion in the accent.

Five minutes is all the climb took.The hook had miraculously managed to imbed itself into the rock that formed the floor of the building.It seemed that there had once been doors on the opening, but they had long since fallen off.Tribbon climbed through the doorway and turned to help Robert into the building.

They stood at the end of a square-shaped rock hallway that turned right about ten feet down.There was a door on the left side of the hall that stood closed, and in the light of the glowrock, it seemed somewhat blue coloured.There was a faint shape on the ceiling at the end of the hall where it turned, but neither Robert nor Tribbon could make it out from where they stood.

They walked slowly up the hallway, unsure of what they might find.The darkness that hid in the corners, where the glowrock couldn't reach, frightened the men with their suggestion of the unknown.Anything could be hiding in the blackness, though the dark in the cavern didn't frighten them so.Perhaps it was simply because they now stood in a building that was older than the world they knew and that they didn't know what sort of creature may still live in it.They came to the door and observed the fact that it was terribly old, but seemed to be made of wood.There was a cool, round handle on the door; it was unlike anything either man had seen before.Tribbon wrapped his hand around it and pushed – nothing happened.He thought for a moment that the door might be stuck and Robert agreed, so he put his shoulder into the door – still nothing.

Finally, Robert decided to try a different approach.He wrapped his hand around the handle of the door and felt that it was slightly loose.He wasn't sure what that meant, but purely by accident he found that it turned slightly.He tried turning it more and as soon as he had turned it enough, the door came loose on it's hinges and opened freely.Robert smiled at Tribbon, feeling quite proud of himself.

Behind the door was a large room with a dozen or so tables that were obviously not made of wood.It resembled the eating areas of the modern day inns and taverns, so Robert immediately assumed that the room was used for that purpose.They wandered further into the room and found two large rectangular boxes near the door that stood as high as the average man.

The first had a clear side displaying strange looking shelves lined with strange characters.The clear window was not made of glass, which surprised both of them.Under the window was a strange compartment that was accessed through a heavy flap, and beside the window about halfway between the top and bottom was a group of little square shaped.Each square represented a character, all of which seemed to match the ones on the shelves.The box intrigued Robert, but Tribbon made his way over to the second one, which was clearly different.

The second box wasn't quite rectangular.The front side was curved out and seemed to give it a little more essence.There was a strange picture on the front of the box of a cylinder with funny writing on it surrounded by cube shapes that couldn't be easily made out in the light from the glowrock.There were a number of rectangular shapes near the midsection of the front side that curved out much like the front section itself.Each one would move into the box as it was pressed, and pop back out when released._Amazing, he thought."Let's move on," said Robert after he had taken a quick look at the second box._

Together, they wandered out of the eating room, closing the door behind them.From where they now stood they could see that the object on the ceiling at the end of the hall was in fact unidentifiable.It was a flat piece of an unfamiliar material, much like that of the first box's clear front, only this was a solid colour.It bore more strange symbols that seemed to be lettering as if to spell out a word from the ancient language.Robert was familiar with many words in the old language but was unsure of how to spell them; he didn't recognize the word.Beside the word was a symbol that was unfamiliar as well, but seemed slightly universal in it's meaning.It seemed to point up the next hall as if to indicate whatever the ceiling ornament spoke of was in that direction.

Robert looked up the next hallway and saw that there were a few more doors.There was a set of interesting double doors at the end of the hall that interested him most; they were clearly solid from the look of them, but they had windows that revealed that there was a staircase behind them.Aside from the stairwell doors, there were two other doors, both solid with no windows.Both doors were on the right side of the hall and when examined, wouldn't open.Robert was disappointed, but was quickly distracted by the excitement of finding the staircase.

The staircase was different that any that he had ever seen.They were clearly man-made, but they seemed almost as if they had been built from many different parts and substances.The culture of the old world was beginning to interest Robert in ways he had never imagined.He wanted to study them, to understand their way of life, but he knew that was virtually impossible.The stairs didn't curve in a circular pattern or run straight like the modern stairs did; instead they stopped halfway with a landing before turning back and continuing on beside the first set of stairs.They led to a second floor, but continued higher to at least a third floor in a repeating pattern of doubling back on itself.

Robert and Tribbon stopped at the second floor and began to explore.They exited the stairwell into a hallway that was much like the one they had just been in.It stretched forward about twenty feet before turning left, with two doors on the right side of it.The first door opened, but it seemed like a storage closet with many versions of the modern cleaning utensils that were much more advanced.

The second door revealed a room cluttered with all sorts of paper and things like it.In the middle of the room was a wooden table of some sort that resembled a desk.Papers were scattered all over the table, including a pile of papers that folded together, most likely to keep them together.The paper was a faded colour, unlike the white papers around it, and although there were more incomprehensible words scattering the top sheet, the words surrounded a picture.

The picture was old and faded, and could barely be made out: a woman in strange clothing running towards the artist in terror, though what she ran from was too faded to see.Tribbon moved to the other side of the table and found a strange chair that seemed to be padded with some kind of pillows that were built into the chair itself.He found the concept quite intriguing and couldn't help but try it out.The chair was very comfortable, and he decided that he didn't want to get up.

On one side of the table sat a rather odd looking box.It wasn't perfectly square, but it was close enough, and once side had a glass cover.There were some funny little buttons along the bottom of the side that had the glass covering and when Tribbon pressed one of them, the glass lit up, lighting the entire room, though the glass just went fuzzy with rapidly moving colours.Tribbon was amazed, "These people must have spent hours looking at this thing," he said as he moved closer to the glass to watch it.

"What's this?" asked Robert as he fished a rectangular box out from under a pile of paper.

Tribbon looked away from his colourful glass but his eyes were blinded and he couldn't see what Robert was holding.Robert moved around to where Tribbon was sitting and looked at the glass as well."That's interesting," he said, "I wonder what it was used for."

Beneath the box with the glowing glass, there was another box before the table began.The second box was smaller and more rectangular.The most curious thing about it was the display that showed, "--:--" and flashed at a fixed pace.Beside this display was a rectangular flap that seemed to hide the insides from the world around it.Robert looked at the flap, then at the box in his hand.Strangely they seemed about the same shape.

Robert held the box in a way that made it possible to insert the box into the slot, purely out of curiosity – it fit perfectly.Unsure of whether it would work, he pushed the box further into the slot but it stopped shortly before passing all the way in.

He pulled the box back out and thought for a moment.One side of the box in his hand was flimsy, almost as though it was ment to flip up, though he couldn't manage to flip it without exerting a significant amount of force and he didn't want to risk breaking it.He turned the box in his hands so that the flimsy part would go into the slot first, unlike the way he had pushed it in the first time.This time, the box was pulled from his hands into the slot and disappeared inside.Robert jumped in surprise before feeling good about himself again.

The colourful glass went black, but a different sort of black, almost as if there was light coming from it.Tribbon covered his eyes for a moment as the sudden darkness overwhelmed them.He opened his eyes again as the box began to make noise – a voice.The glass was lit once more by moving pictures of a man and the voice corresponded with the movement of the mouth on the glass.Tribbon was shocked by this and tried to touch the pictures, but found that they were actually under the glass."What is this?" he asked, but Robert shushed him.

"I think I can understand the language when it is spoken.I'll try to translate what he's saying," said Robert who paused for a moment, "He's saying, 'If you are watching this tape, then you are another survivor of this great tragedy.It has been several years now since it happened, but we are now beginning to experience the effects of the radiation.There were twenty of us at the start, but now,' a bunch of names, 'have died leaving only the five of us.

"'After the power went out, we managed to set up a generator outside fueled by a large oil source.We're not sure how long it'll last; maybe a few years, maybe a few centuries; either way, it's powering this entire building.We turned off all nonessential instruments to save the power, lights, computers, even the security cameras.

"'The world as we know it has come to an end.In fact, there were some reports that a good portion of the Earth itself have been blown away, that the planet is no longer round.I'm not terribly surprised.

"'I suppose there's a chance that whoever you are, you don't know what happened, so you might be interested in finding the other tape; it should be where you found this one.It contains a video documentary that I'm going to put together after I've finished making this tape and it will explain everything to you.

"'Regardless of who you are and what you know by now, I wish you good luck and I hope you survive longer than we did.Goodbye.'"

Robert stopped talking as the figure under the glass reached towards them and the picture became black once more.Tribbon was confused, but this didn't surprise Robert, though he too was confused."Did any of that make sense to you?" Tribbon asked.

"Most of it, actually.I don't understand some of the terminology, but I think it's fairly straightforward.I assume that the little rectangular box that I placed in the slot was what the man referred to as a 'tape,' though I could still be wrong.What he said about another tape interested me too," Robert moved papers around on the table where he found the first tape, but found nothing.

"We need more light," he exclaimed.

"For once, I can't help you," said Tribbon, shrugging his shoulders.

Robert looked around the room, but nothing looked much like a light except a long rectangular fixture on the ceiling.It looked like nothing he had ever seen before, but something about it was familiar.Attached to the inside of the rectangle was a cylindrical tube of some sort that seemed to remind Robert of something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.Then he remembered the cylinder that Angenog had given him.

He reached into his cloak and produced the glass cylinder.Looking at the fixture on the ceiling, he confirmed that the tube in his hands was the same as a tube in the fixture already.He reached up and pulled on the second tube until it came out.He tossed it onto a pile of papers in the corner and tried to figure out how to put his cylinder into it.After a few minutes of fiddling, he slid the cylinder into it's proper place and the room was flooded with a dazzling bright light.Both Robert and Tribbon were forced to shield their eyes and they strangely had the same comparison in their minds with the sun itself.

After Robert's eyes cleared up enough, he was satisfied that there was enough light to look around the room in.While Robert searched for the second tape, he asked Tribbon to figure out how to get the first one back out of the device that seemed to have eaten it.Both found what they were looking for at nearly the same moment.

"Found it," cried Tribbon.

"Found it," cried Robert.

They looked at each other and smiled.Robert plodded over to the machines and took the old tape out so he could insert the new one."We should turn off that light first," suggested Tribbon, "It's reflecting in the glass of this thing."

Robert inserted the tape until the machine pulled it inside, and then he reached up and pulled the tube out of the fixture.The glowrock lit the room once more, and their eyes had to adjust to the dark for a moment before the same man appeared on the glass once more.Robert began to translate:

'Okay, if you're watching this, I can assume that you have nearly no clue as to what happened to us.To be quite honest, it began as an accident, or so the [something I don't recognize] claimed.They claimed to have been developing a new weapon; they called it a [something I don't understand] bomb.Somehow it detonated in one of our cities by accident, though we never believed them.There was a long debate carried out over several days, but in the meantime, things were happening in the blast-zone.People, plants, and animals were mutating.The bomb, it seemed, was designed not to kill or destroy, but to alter the physiology of things on an atomic level.'

"What does that mean?" asked Tribbon.

"I haven't a clue," said Robert before continuing the translation:

'I don't know what level of scientific understanding you currently have, but if you don't know what that means, it means that it takes the elements of our deaneh and changes them.'

"What on earth is deaneh?" asked Tribbon.

"Again, I don't know," said Robert.

'Strange, bizarre things began to happen.Plants were becoming vicious and took many lives.People mutated into ravenous cannibals, destroying many more lives.I suppose the strangest of all the occurrences were the deaths of two thousand and some odd people that were reported to having been caused by their own clothing.Apparently the cloths mutated and became living creatures, killing their wearer and anyone else in their way.

'The worst aspect of this bombs affects was that it was contagious.It spread quickly across the you es and into the other countries as well.It seemed to even have an affect on the water and soil and it became harder and harder to avoid [something I don't think we have a word for].'

The pictures under the glass changed to show fire and clouds that seemed to be caused by the fire, though they were of nothing either man had ever seen before.The voice continued to explain what happened, 'Before they could be affected, the [something or other] fired several [things] at [someplace] causing a major string of retaliations.The you es fired a dozen or so [things] which I suppose is what caused the creation of a massive crater to form where [someplace] used to be.In the end, the world looked a little like [some kind of] cheese.Those of us who survived know that it is only a matter of time before the mutation catches up with us.I just hope the world is a better place by the time you see this tape.'

The picture disappears in much the same way as it did on the last tape.The two men remain silent for a moment, "I guess you've found what you were looking for," said Tribbon finally.

"Ten years of searching," said Robert, trailing off at the end.

They became silent again for a moment.Robert tried to think of what he would do now that he had finished his quest.Nothing came to mind; he had been away from a stable lifestyle so long that he had forgotten what it had to offer.

His train of thought was caught short by a sudden noise from somewhere nearby.Robert looked at Tribbon who looked at Robert looking at him."What was that?" Tribbon asked.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," said Robert as he left the room.


	14. Part 1: Chapter 14

Out in the hallway, Robert looked up the hallway to where it turned down to the left – nothing out of the ordinary

Out in the hallway, Robert looked up the hallway to where it turned down to the left – nothing out of the ordinary.He then looked back towards the staircase, and to his surprise, there was now a hole in the wall of the landing leading out into the cavern.Robert's mouth dropped open, and Tribbon's did the same as he saw the hole. 

They slowly made their way towards the hole, and once through the windowed doors leading into the stairwell, they could see the hole more clearly.It was perfectly rectangular suggesting that the noise they had heard wasn't the hole's formation.On the other side of the hole was a ledge that seamed to run for a good portion of the cavern's wall.

Robert stepped through the hole only to have to stop as he noticed the head of a snake not to far from where he stood.The snake itself was stretched up from the ledge to a ledge above, and Robert could see that there were several ledges and several snakes stretching from the ledges.Oddly, there were a number of ladders around the cavern wall as well."Hello," called a familiar voice. 

There, standing on the ledge above Robert, was Angenog in his usual white clothing."I'll be with you in a second," he said as he shook his hand about and tossed two cubes onto the surface of the ledge."Rats," he cried as he stepped forward two steps and stepped on the tail of a snake.

The snake was shocked by this and Angenog was suddenly lifted along the snake towards it's head, which was right in front of Robert.Angenog stopped sliding on the snake when he reached Robert and cried out, "Your turn."

The ground seemed to grumble a bit as the two cubes that Angenog had dropped began to bounce without any indication of force acting upon them.A small boulder on the same ledge began to roll freely for a moment and stopped just before touching the same snake's tail.Robert looked shocked for a moment, but when the man in white began to speak, the shock dissipated."So, how goes the search?" he asked.

"Actually, I just found the information I was looking for," reported Robert, "but how did this hole get here? It wasn't here before and I heard no sound of it's creation."

Angenog chuckled, "Are you still trying to make sense of these things?" he asked, "When are you going to realize that things don't always make sense, that sometimes things happen out of convenience rather than logic, especially when it becomes necessary to incorporate the nonsense.The hole appeared there simply because it doesn't make sense for the hole to be there."

"That doesn't make sense," said Robert.

"Exactly," exclaimed Angenog, "Now, you said that you found the answer, right?"

Robert nodded."Great," exclaimed the man again, "I can tell Mother Earth that you've succeeded and that she should expect you to relay the information to you shortly."

"Why can't I tell her myself right now?" asked Robert.

"Well, you see, here's the thing. We've known for a long time about this place and that the answer to her question would be found here, but she can't enter into this cave to find it, and I only now managed to sneak in."

"What do you mean?" asked Robert, still confused by the hole in the wall, but trying to manage.

"It's the oil," said Angenog as he pointed into the darkness.

"That pool below the building?" asked Robert for clarification. 

"Yes.It is still infected by some strange radiation that inhibits Mother Earth, and the power that is wielded by Cloud people comes from her.If she can't get it, neither can we unless we can find a way.This particular section of the cavern is strangely unaffected as greatly as the rest of it is."

"The virus is a mutation," said Robert, "it causes things to change into terrible creatures that are full of evil."

Angenog thought for a moment, "We can never let this mutation affect anyone, then.The results would be disastrous, I'm sure," he paused, "Wait, what's that?"

Angenog pointed towards the floor of the cavern.It was a burning torch approaching from the distance; two figures could be seen in the light."I don't know who they are," said Robert with a sudden worried tone, "but they're headed straight for the oil pool."


	15. Part 1: Chapter 15

"The noise is definitely getting louder, it's obvious that Tribbon was following it," said Morgan Fritz, the torch burning bri

"The noise is definitely getting louder, it's obvious that Tribbon was following it," said Morgan Fritz, the torch burning brightly in his left hand.

Jeffan Fritz walked on Morgan's left side as he watched the ground to follow the footprints.He looked up when his brother made his comment for the twelfth time, "You said that five minutes ago," he said in an irritated tone; clearly the cavern and the darkness was getting to him.

He looked back to the footprints, but it wasn't in time.Jeffan cried out as he placed his foot onto the ground that wasn't there.He tumbled forward into the dark liquid as Morgan stopped just in time.A moment later, Jeffan was at the surface of the oil, thrashing about, until he managed to get close enough to the edge to pull himself out with the aide of his brother.

Jeffan sat next to the black pool breathing heavily.Morgan too was breathing fairly deeply as the sudden shock passed."That was too close," said Jeffan after he had calmed down himself.

Morgan didn't reply; he had become distracted for a moment as his eyes caught sight of a greenish glow on the cavern wall not too far ahead.In the glow, he could just make out the figures of three people standing there watching him.Jeffan looked up at his brother to see if he was paying attention, and when he saw the man's gaze was fixed elsewhere, he followed it."Who are they?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I bet one of them is Tribbon, and that green glow might very well be his treasure," said Morgan, as the crazed look appeared in his eyes once more.

Morgan began to walk along the edge of the pool, following it in the light.Jeffan struggled to his feet and followed."You know, Morgan, I don't feel right.I think there's something wrong with me."

Morgan stopped and looked at his brother.In the light of the torch, Morgan's face turned pale as a stunned expression appeared on his face.Jeffan had wiped the oil off his skin and mostly out of his cloths, but now it seemed like his skin itself was turning black."What is it?What's wrong?" asked Jeffan, thrown off by the look on his brother's face.

"You're turning black," said Morgan, half stuttering.

"I'm what?" asked Jeffan, shocked at what he thought his brother had said.

"You're turning black," said Morgan, "and you're eyes…"

Jeffan's eyes had turned red.


	16. Part 1: Chapter 16

Robert, Tribbon, and Angenog watched from the ledge as the events unfolded at the edge of the oil pool

Robert, Tribbon, and Angenog watched from the ledge as the events unfolded at the edge of the oil pool.The torch had continued walking after the other figure had climbed out of the pool.After a moment the flame stopped and the two figures began to talk, though they tree men couldn't hear what was being said."I don't understand who they could be," said Robert, "Are there still people living in this cavern?"

"I don't think so," said Angenog, though he didn't sound convinced.

At that moment, one figure grabbed the other and they both were hurled into the pool.Robert and Tribbon gasped as the torch lit the entire surface of the pool on fire and the two men thrashed about in the pool before disappearing into the pool's blackness."What can we do?" asked Tribbon.

"Nothing, I expect," said Robert.

"I agree," said Angenog, plainly.

After a moment, Robert turned to Angenog, "Just out of curiosity, what is it you were doing here when we came out?"

Angenog looked at Robert and smiled, "Playing snakes and ladders with the Earth, of course," and promptly disappeared.

"Does he always do that?" asked Tribbon.

"What? Disappear, or play strange games with the elements?"

Tribbon thought for a moment, but Robert didn't give him a chance to respond, "Let's get out of this cave," he said.

They made their way back through the building and climbed down the rope.They followed their own footprints, though doubled by the footprints of their followers, until they found their way back to the pool leading to the passage out of the cavern.After another long swim that seemed well beyond explanation, Tribbon and Robert emerged in the pool under the waterfall.

Night had fallen at some point or another and both men were unsure of how long they had been in the cavern.They found the camp of the Hobble hunters nearby and were welcomed in, though the four men were unsure of what to make of them.Here they were, two strange men appearing in the Chainsaw Mountains during the hunt, suspiciously when two of the hunters are missing.Three days had passed since they had first entered the underwater passage, and this surprised Robert; he had thought it had been less.Robert learned quickly that Morgan and Jeffan Fritz had ventured into the pool for some reason or another and after making a quick assumption, Robert reported the two men's deaths. 

The next day, the camp was packed up and the group returned to This Place with only four Hobbles and two men short.Tribbon provided Robert with a room in his home and happily allowed him to stay the night.Robert had never seen the Hobble-Gobble Hogwash take place and was interested to see what it was all about.

The day after their arrival in This Place, the ring had been set up and flooded, and the entire town gathered around to watch as the Hobbles fought with the hogs.Robert thought the activity to be rather pointless and barbaric, but somehow he couldn't pull himself away from the fight.In the end, one Hobble lost the fight while the other three defeated the hogs and one of the three finished off the fourth pig.After the fight was over, Robert said farewell to Tribbon, "Well, at first I thought your company would be the end of me, but you surprised me.I'm glad to have you as a friend."

Tribbon blushed, pushed Robert's waiting handshake aside, and embraced him for a short hug."What will you do now," asked Tribbon after releasing Robert from the hug.

"I'm not sure.I need to tell Mother Earth what happened; I suppose that's the first thing I'll do.Then, I thought I'd go back to a cave I once visited.Two very strange old men inhabit it, but I might be able to help them out in some way.You never know, maybe I'll become a very strange old man myself."

Tribbon smiled and patted Robert on the shoulder, "I'll see you around hermit," he said.

Robert smiled, turned, and walked away from This Place.That was the last time he ever went there; he didn't want to spoil the memory.


	17. Part 1: Chapter 17

The cave was dark as it had been before

The cave was dark as it had been before.The two lanterns hung as they had before and the two old men still hammered away at the carvings.Robert smiled as he took a lantern out from within his cloak and pulled a stick out with it.He found a groove in the rock floor and jammed the stick in.When he was sure that the stick was stable enough, he hung the lantern from it and lit the oil within.

Robert reached back into his cloak and pulled out the glowrock.Immediately, the entire cave lit up.Robert looked from side to side and realized that the rock that the cave was in was very reflective.He took the glowrock to the middle of the cave and, using a hammer that he also carried in his cloak, he pounded the glowrock into the cave's floor.The walls were still lit and the two old men seemed uninterested in that fact. 

Robert returned to the right side of the cave.He reached into his cloak and produced the only other thing he carried with him, a chisel.He raised it to the wall and hit it with the hammer, knocking a chunk of rock to the floor. He continued to do so until he realized that the two old men stood behind him watching.He turned to them, "Hello," he said.

"What are you carving?" asked the man on the left.

Robert thought for a moment before answering, "Well," he said, pausing, "You're carving this," he gestured straight across the cave to one statue, "and you're carving that," he gestured to his right at the other carving, "I guess that mean's I'm carving the only thing left for me to carve…"

The two men looked expectantly at Robert, unsure of what he meant by this comment, but they didn't have to wait long before Robert finished what he was saying:

"I'm carving everything else."


End file.
